{"title":"Markus Gabriel","description":"\u003cp\u003eMarkus Gabriel's works explore the depths of contemporary philosophy with a striking clarity and originality. Readers can engage with themes of existence, subjectivity, and the nature of thought, as well as the intersection of philosophy with art and humanity’s future. His writing often challenges conventional ideas, offering fresh perspectives on complex questions about reality and meaning.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSpanning topics from ethics and morality to the implications of scientific understanding, Gabriel’s books invite thoughtful reflection on what it means to be human in a rapidly changing world. For those interested in Philosophy \u0026amp; Psychology or the broader relationship between Science \u0026amp; Nature and human experience, this collection offers stimulating and profound insights.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"towards-a-new-enlightenment-the-case-for-future-oriented-humanities-by-markus-gabriel-9783837665703","title":"Towards a New Enlightenment - The Case for Future-Oriented Humanities","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat role can the humanities play in shaping our common future? What are the values that guide us in the 21st century? How can we unleash the potential the humanities offer in a time of multiple crises?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis volume tackles some of these fundamental questions, acknowledging and developing the changing role of academic discourse in a turbulent world. This timely book argues that the humanities engender conceptual tools that are capable of reconciling theory and practice.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn a bold move, we call for the humanities to reach beyond the confines of universities and engage in the most urgent debates facing humanity today, in a multidisciplinary, transformative, and constructive way. \u003cem\u003eTowards a New Enlightenment - The Case for Future-Oriented Humanities\u003c\/em\u003e is a blueprint for how societal change can be inclusive and equitable for the good of humans and non-humans alike.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46855344324844,"sku":"9783837665703","price":37.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/5589d106049ec3c3a38638dc25f55623.jpg?v=1759278825"},{"product_id":"everything-and-nothing-by-graham-priest-9781509537471","title":"Everything and Nothing","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIs it possible for reality as a whole to be part of itself? Can the world appear within itself without thereby undermining the consistency of our thought and knowledge-claims concerning more local matters of fact?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a question on which Markus Gabriel and Graham Priest disagree. Gabriel argues that the world cannot exist precisely because it is understood to be an absolute totality. Priest responds by developing a special form of mereology according to which reality is a single all-encompassing whole, everything, which counts itself among its denizens. Their disagreement results in a debate about everything and nothing: Gabriel argues that we experience nothingness once we overcome our urge to contain reality in an all-encompassing thought, whereas Priest develops an account of nothing according to which it is the ground of absolutely everything.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA debate about everything and nothing, but also a reflection on the very possibility of metaphysics.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47000616370412,"sku":"9781509537471","price":42.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/12396963482725.jpg?v=1763289439"},{"product_id":"fictions-by-markus-gabriel-9781509546619","title":"Fictions","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom ancient philosophy to contemporary theories of fiction, it is a common practice to relegate illusory appearances to the realm of the non-existent, like shadows on the wall of Plato’s cave. Contrary to this traditional mode of drawing a metaphysical distinction between reality and fiction, Markus Gabriel argues that the realm of the illusory, fictional, imaginary, and conceptually indeterminate is as real as it gets.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBeing in touch with reality need not and cannot require that we overcome appearances in order to grasp a meaningless reality which exists ‘out there’, outside and maybe even beyond our minds. Human mindedness (\u003ci\u003eGeist\u003c\/i\u003e) exists in the mode of fictions through which we achieve self-consciousness. This novel approach provides a fresh perspective on our existence as subjects who lead their lives in the light of self-conceptions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eFictions\u003c\/i\u003e also develops a social ontology according to which the social unfolds as a constant renegotiation of dissent, of different points of view onto the same reality. Thus, we cannot ever hope to ground human society in a fiction-free realm of objective transactions. However, this does not mean that truth and reality are somehow outdated concepts. On the contrary, we need to enlarge our conception of reality so that it fully encompasses ourselves as specifically minded social animals.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis major new work of philosophy will be of interest to students and scholars throughout the humanities and to anyone interested in contemporary philosophy and social thought.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47000620007660,"sku":"9781509546619","price":83.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/12488443482725.jpg?v=1763289900"},{"product_id":"i-am-not-a-brain-by-markus-gabriel-9781509514755","title":"I am Not a Brain","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMany consider the nature of human consciousness to be one of the last great unsolved mysteries. Why should the light turn on, so to speak, in human beings at all? And how is the electrical storm of neurons under our skull connected with our consciousness? Is the self only our brain’s user interface, a kind of stage on which a show is performed that we cannot freely direct?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eI am Not a Brain\u003c\/em\u003e, philosopher Markus Gabriel challenges an increasing trend in the sciences towards neurocentrism, a notion which rests on the assumption that the self is identical to the brain. Gabriel raises serious doubts as to whether we can know ourselves in this way. In a sharp critique of this approach, he presents a new defence of free will and provides a timely introduction to philosophical thought about the self – all with verve, humour, and surprising insights.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eGabriel criticises the scientific image of the world and takes us on an eclectic journey of self-reflection by way of such concepts as self, consciousness, and freedom, with the aid of Kant, Schopenhauer, and Nagel, but also \u003cem\u003eDr. Who\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe Walking Dead\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eFargo\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47000642781420,"sku":"9781509514755","price":131.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/12169803482725.jpg?v=1763292895"},{"product_id":"moral-progress-in-dark-times-by-markus-gabriel-9781509549481","title":"Moral Progress in Dark Times","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe challenges we face today are unprecedented, from the existential crisis of climate change to the global security threats posed by aggression in Ukraine and elsewhere. Add to this the crisis of liberal democracy, and we seem to be swirling in a state of moral disarray, unsure whether there are any principles to which we can appeal today that would be anything other than particularistic.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn contrast to this view, Markus Gabriel puts forward the bold argument that there are guiding moral principles for human behaviour. These guiding principles extend across cultures; they are universally valid and form the source of universal values in the twenty-first century. In developing what he calls a \u003cem\u003eNew Moral Realism\u003c\/em\u003e, Gabriel breathes fresh life into the idea that humanity’s task on our planet is to enable moral progress through cooperation. It is only by achieving moral progress in a way that incorporates universal values—and thus embraces all of humanity—that we can avoid the abyss into which we will otherwise slide.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWritten with verve, wit, and imagination, Gabriel's call for a new enlightenment is a welcome antidote to the value relativism and nihilism of our times. It lays out a moral framework within which we can work together—as surely we must—to deal with the great challenges we now face.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47000686199020,"sku":"9781509549481","price":59.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/12517063482725.jpg?v=1763297037"},{"product_id":"neo-existentialism-by-markus-gabriel-9781509532483","title":"Neo-Existentialism","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn this highly original book, Markus Gabriel offers an account of the human self that overcomes the deadlocks inherent in the standard positions of contemporary philosophy of mind. His view, \u003cem\u003eNeo-Existentialism\u003c\/em\u003e, is thoroughly anti-naturalist in that it repudiates any theory according to which the ensemble of our best natural-scientific knowledge is able to account fully for human mindedness.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eInstead, he shows that human mindedness consists in an open-ended proliferation of mentalistic vocabularies. Their role in the human life form consists in making sense of the fact that the human being does not merely blend in with inanimate nature and the rest of the animal kingdom. Humans rely on a self-portrait that locates them in the broadest conceivable context of the universe. What distinguishes this self-portrait from our knowledge of natural reality is that we change in light of our true and false beliefs about the human being.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eGabriel’s argument is challenged in this volume by Charles Taylor, Andrea Kern, and Jocelyn Benoist. In defending his argument against these and other objections and in spelling out his theory of self-constitution, Gabriel refutes naturalism’s metaphysical claim to epistemic exclusiveness and opens up new paths for future self-knowledge beyond the contemporary ideology of the scientific worldview.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47000688525548,"sku":"9781509532483","price":35.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/12347083482725.jpg?v=1763297385"},{"product_id":"sense-nonsense-and-subjectivity-by-markus-gabriel-9780674260283","title":"Sense, Nonsense, and Subjectivity","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA leading German philosopher offers his most ambitious work yet on the nature of knowledge, arguing that being wrong about things defines the human condition.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFor millennia, philosophers have dedicated themselves to advancing understanding of the nature of truth and reality. In the process, they have amassed a great deal of epistemological theory—knowledge about knowledge. However, negative epistemological phenomena, such as ignorance, falsity, illusion, and delusion, are persistently overlooked. This is surprising given that we all know how fallible humans are.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSense, Nonsense, and Subjectivity\u003c\/em\u003e replies with a theory of false thought, demonstrating that being wrong about things is part and parcel of subjectivity itself. For this reason, knowledge can never be secured without our making claims that can always, in principle, be wrong. Even in successful cases, where we get something right and thereby gain knowledge, the possibility of failure lingers with us. Markus Gabriel grounds this argument in a novel account of the relationship between sense, nonsense, and subjectivity—phenomena that hang together in the temporal unfolding of our cognitive lives.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhile most philosophers continue to theorize subjectivity in terms of conscious self-representation and the supposedly infallible grip we have on ourselves as thinkers, \u003cem\u003eSense, Nonsense, and Subjectivity\u003c\/em\u003e addresses the age-old Platonic challenge to understand situations in which we do not get reality right. Adding a stimulating perspective on epistemic failures to the work of New Realism, Gabriel addresses long-standing ontological questions in an age where the line between the real and the fake is increasingly blurred.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47000738234604,"sku":"9780674260283","price":90.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/1104713482428.jpg?v=1763301557"},{"product_id":"the-human-animal-by-markus-gabriel-9781509558032","title":"The Human Animal","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe climate crisis has forced us to recognize that we are not separate from nature but are part of the natural world on which we depend: human beings are animals and we must understand much better our place in nature and our impact on our environment if we are to avoid our own annihilation as a species. And yet we feel nevertheless that we do not entirely fit into nature, that we stand apart from other animals in some way – in what way, exactly?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Human Animal\u003c\/em\u003e by Markus Gabriel argues that what distinguishes humans from other animals is that humans are minded living beings who seek to understand the world and themselves and who possess ethical insight into moral contexts. Mind is the capacity to lead one’s life in the light of a conception of who or what one is. The undeniable difference between us and other animals defines the human condition and places a special responsibility on us to consider our actions in the context of other living beings and our shared habitat.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt also calls on us to cultivate an ethics of not-knowing: to recognize that, however much we may seek to understand the world, we will never completely master it. Our grasp of reality, mediated by our animal minds, will always be limited: much is and will remain alien to us, lending itself only to speculation – and to remember this is to stand us in better stead for carving out an existence among the environmental crisis that looms before us all.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47000787091692,"sku":"9781509558032","price":59.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/12602573482725.jpg?v=1763304819"},{"product_id":"the-meaning-of-thought-by-markus-gabriel-9781509538362","title":"The Meaning of Thought","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom populist propaganda attacking knowledge as ‘fake news’ to the latest advances in artificial intelligence, human thought is under unprecedented attack today. If computers can do what humans can do and they can do it much faster, what’s so special about human thought?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn this new book, bestselling philosopher Markus Gabriel steps back from the polemics to re-examine the very nature of human thought. He conceives of human thinking as a ‘sixth sense’, a kind of sense organ that is closely tied to our biological reality as human beings. Our thinking is not a form of data processing but rather the linking together of images and imaginary ideas which we process in different sensory modalities. Our time frame expands far beyond the present moment, as our ideas and beliefs stretch far beyond the here and now. We are living beings and the whole of evolution is built into our life story. In contrast to some of the exaggerated claims made by proponents of AI, Gabriel argues that our thinking is a complex structure and organic process that is not easily replicated and very far from being superseded by computers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith his usual wit and intellectual verve, Gabriel combines philosophical insight with pop culture to set out a bold defence of the human and a plea for an enlightened humanism for the 21st century. This timely book will be of great value to anyone interested in the nature of human thought and the relations between human beings and machines in an age of rapid technological change.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47000795152620,"sku":"9781509538362","price":59.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/12405873482725.jpg?v=1763305581"},{"product_id":"the-power-of-art-by-markus-gabriel-9781509540976","title":"The Power of Art","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe live in an era of aesthetics. Art has become both pervasive and powerful – it is displayed not only in museums and galleries but also on the walls of corporations and it is increasingly fused with design. But what makes art so powerful, and in what does its power consist?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAccording to a widespread view, the power of art – its beauty – lies in the eye of the beholder. What counts as art appears to be a function of individual acts of evaluation supported by powerful institutions. On this account, the power of art stems from a force that is not itself aesthetic, such as the art market and the financial power of speculators. Art expresses, in a disguised form, the power of something else – like money – that lies behind it. In one word, art has lost its autonomy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn this short book, \u003cem\u003eThe Power of Art\u003c\/em\u003e, Markus Gabriel rejects this view. He argues that art is essentially uncontrollable. It is in the nature of the work of art to be autonomous to such a degree that the art world will never manage to overpower it. Ever since the cave paintings of Lascaux, art has taken hold of the human mind and implemented itself in our very being. Thanks to the emergence of art we became human beings, that is, beings who lead their lives in light of an image of the human being and its position in the world and in relation to other species. Due to its structural, ontological power, art itself is and remains radically autonomous. Yet, this power is highly ambiguous, as we cannot control its unfolding.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eThe Power of Art\u003c\/em\u003e, a leading proponent of New Realism applies this philosophical perspective to art to create a new aesthetic realism.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47000807833836,"sku":"9781509540976","price":23.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/12432013482725.jpg?v=1763306469"},{"product_id":"doing-good-by-markus-gabriel-9781509572113","title":"Doing Good","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eDoing Good\u003c\/i\u003e is a bold call for a new social contract in a world buckling under the weight of multiple crises – geopolitical tension, ecological collapse, technological disruption, growing inequality, and the slow erosion of liberal democracy. The promises of modernity, once rooted in the convergence of technoscientific progress and liberal capitalism, have failed to deliver widespread peace and prosperity. Instead, we face an uncertain future that demands radical rethinking.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMarkus Gabriel offers a daring yet pragmatic vision: a New Enlightenment that fuses ethical insight with market forces. We don't need to abandon capitalism, but we need a revolution within capitalism itself: ethical capitalism. This is a form of capitalism that does not merely accommodate morality but thrives on it – generating profit by doing good.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eRejecting the temptation to vilify capitalism, Gabriel reframes it as a system ripe for moral evolution. Doing business is not exempt from ethical responsibility. Ethical business is not only more just: it is economically smarter too. Businesses that solve real problems, respect planetary boundaries, and promote human flourishing are better positioned for long-term success than those that pursue short-term gain through exploitation or extraction.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEthical capitalism is not a utopian fantasy: it is a realistic, actionable path that rejects authoritarian alternatives while advancing a richer conception of freedom. Gabriel thus opens the way to a new eco-social liberalism, one grounded in what we actually know about ourselves as prosocial, value-producing animals. \u003ci\u003eDoing Good\u003c\/i\u003e is both a warning and a manifesto for those determined to steer humanity toward a future worth inheriting.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47562831069420,"sku":"9781509572113","price":47.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781509572113-doing-good.jpg?v=1776987629"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/markus-gabriel.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}